The survey by Afrobarometer, titled Zimbabwe: The Evolving Public Mood, said confidence in democratic liberties has gradually been replaced by a resurgence of political fear since the last study conducted in May 2009. For example, whereas 51 percent of the respondents said they were somewhat or completely free to say what you think in May 2009 shortly after the coalition government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai took office, a significantly lower number of Zimbabweans felt free to openly express their opinions.
In the atmosphere of October 2010, however, when agents of the old party-state were again engaging in intimidation, only one third (32 percent) held the same opinion. Looking at the same coin from the other side, some 67 percent of Zimbabweans do not currently feel free to speak their minds, the survey said. This proportion closely matches the 65 percent who felt that people always have to be careful what you say about politics in October 2005 when Zanu (PF) held a much larger share of power.
Compared to the early days of the inclusive government when the majority said they felt at liberty to speak, associate and vote, only a minority of Zimbabweans express a sense of enjoying these freedoms today. At the same time, most of the 1 192 respondents also regarded power-sharing as a compromise that fell short of their preferred method of choosing a government.
Only 42 percent viewed the current coalition government as a second-best solution, to be used only when elections fail, a figure that held steady over the previous year.
The rest were divided, with one quarter seeing power-sharing as a good alternative to competitive elections, which rarely work well and another quarter (26 percent) viewing it as a bad alternative that should never replace competitive elections.
According to the survey, the honeymoon in public opinion following the introduction of coalition government in February 2009 is over. Evaluations of the coalition regime also declined during the 17 months between May 2009 and October 2010. Whereas in May 2009, 87 percent judged that the fragile regime was performing well or very well, some 66 percent offered the same
overall assessment by October 2010.
Mugabe and arch-rival Tsvangirai were forced to form a coalition government in 2009 following a disputed presidential election run-off that was marred by violence. Their fragile union has been rocked by bickering over positions and mistrust among the partners.
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